Processing your own meat

[Stoof]

When I put meat in a cooler I’m not trying to age it. I’m just caring for it until I have time to break it down. Animals bleed out when you kill them, hang them and gut them. And besides that, blood is flavor. Quit wrapping everything in bacon.

[Stoof]

Not that I have any problems with bacon. [emoji3]

[Smart]

We have experimented a lot over the years. We would camp and hunt the entire season, 10 days here. Some of us killed on the first day and some on the following days. Some on the last day. We would have between 10-15 deer and some times that many elk. We cut steaks from animals that were killed from one day to 10 days ( by the time we got done some hung 15 days). And we would cook them for every one to have some as we proceeded. That included every body that hunted, there wives, and friends that don’t hunt. ( previously we would hang them a min of 15 days, in walk in coolers) And not one person over the years we tried this could tell the difference from one that aged 24 hours to one that was aged 15 days.In taste or tenderness. What we did discover, was the meat generaly did not taste as good if the animal did not die fairly quick. ( long tracking job). And we did these “ tests” for about 12 years. So know it’s just get them, quartered ( or smaller) get them cold ( freezer now, instead of walk in) keep them dry and process as soon as possible, weather it’s the next day or months after. Can’t tell the difference from one package of meat to the next. It’s all great.

you do you...

[calfroper_06]

Personally for deer and hogs, I like to let it sit in the cooler 7-12 days. First 2-4 days its "waterlogged " as some say. From my experience and beliefs, this helps push the blood out of the meat, which is a high contributor to the gamey taste. From then I keep the plugged cracked and water off the meat, keeping the cooler full of ice. Never had any bad meat and meat is always perfectly red under first layer.

Everyone has their own way and in all honestly it's probably doesn't make a difference either way.

[JTeLarkin08]

My mule deer is going on 10 days right now.. I am going to cut it up and vac seal it tomorrow..

[JEW]

I hang when possible , We had a doe hunt at Garner one year where
they made us cut up deer as soon as possible. When the Hot meat hit the ice you could see the the muscles tighten up, it was all tuff as a boot.
If i Have to put it on ice now i use frozen water jugs.

[sharpstick35]

Never, I process everything immediately. It's rare to take 2 hours from shot to deep freeze. If I'm going to age a cut of meat I do it in the (redneck) curing chamber later.

this is the same as I do. most of my meat is in the freezer within a few hours. as for the taste, we eat almost exclusively red meat from deer, axis, etc...
and even when we have company and don't tell them they never know the difference.

[Gladesgator]

I don't put them in ice at all, I just let them hang in the walk in, until I get to them. Usually, one to 4 days.

[Smart]

I don't put them in ice at all, I just let them hang in the walk in, until I get to them. Usually, one to 4 days.

I think you’d find if everybody had a walkin they wouldn’t do ice either..����

I know I wouldn’t. A cooler in ice is a no walkin having folk’s mini walkin. Especially when your lease is 5 hours away and it’s illegal to process in camp past the quarters.

[MetalMan2004]

I think you’d find if everybody had a walkin they wouldn’t do ice either..����

I know I wouldn’t. A cooler in ice is a no walkin having folk’s mini walkin. Especially when your lease is 5 hours away and it’s illegal to process in camp past the quarters.

This.